Butterfly help
- Thread starter fishfatty
- Start date
poniegirl
Active Member
Hey FishFatty!
Long-nose Butterflyfish
Scientific name
Forcipiger longirostris
Common name
Long-nose Butterflyfish
Size
20 centimeters
Dispersion
Found only in the Andaman Sea
Area found
Demersal fish, in the coral reef around the reef slope
Depth
5 – 40 meters, mainly not more than 30 meters
Feed on
The coral or small benthic animals
Situation
Found in some coral reef area
Conservation
Still lack of data on distribution in specific locality
Fish Tip
A shy fish, difficult to approach. You have to creep in
Butterflyfish is in Family Chaetodontidae , well known by the Thai. There are about 120 genera. But not more than 30 genera found in the Thai Sea. Some people mistook them for angelfish. The spine of angelfish clearly separates them from butterfly fish. You can click and see angelfish for yourself.
There are two long-nose butterfly fishes in the Thai Seas. One is this one, found in the Andaman Sea only. The other is Chelmon rostratus, commonly called long-nose butterfly fish as well, but found only in the Gulf of Thailand. Luckily, it is a different sea. So, it is not very confusing.
Just looking at the mouth, you probably know that they are fed on small benthic animals. The very long mouth is suitable to insert between coral branches to nibble the coral, or thrust through sea anemone's tentacles to have pinch on the tissue. Long-nose butterfly fish is, therefore, found in a fertile reef with plenty of stag horn coral or submassive coral and full of small benthic animals like Hok Island (Similan Islands), or Torinla Island (Surin Islands). Both are one of the places that long-nose butterfly fish is found most in Thailand.
Most butterfly fish goes in couple to look for food. The same applies to long-nose butterfly fish. During their teens, they normally live alone. But when they grow up, they would pair off and always live together. You see them by the couple. Mainly I meet them in the reef slope area beyond the reef edge to the deep. They are not found a lot. If a few couples are found in one dive, it is great. I have never met a school of long-nose butterfly fish yet. But I have seen them kept in the aquarium. What a pity! The probability that butterfly fish would survive the aquarium is very slim. They would starve themselves to death. Also, long-nose butterfly fish is very shy. When someone passes by, they would jump and knock against the glass pane until the long nose is scraped. That is a good example of “hell aquarium”.
Your call.
Long-nose Butterflyfish
Scientific name
Forcipiger longirostris
Common name
Long-nose Butterflyfish
Size
20 centimeters
Dispersion
Found only in the Andaman Sea
Area found
Demersal fish, in the coral reef around the reef slope
Depth
5 – 40 meters, mainly not more than 30 meters
Feed on
The coral or small benthic animals
Situation
Found in some coral reef area
Conservation
Still lack of data on distribution in specific locality
Fish Tip
A shy fish, difficult to approach. You have to creep in
Butterflyfish is in Family Chaetodontidae , well known by the Thai. There are about 120 genera. But not more than 30 genera found in the Thai Sea. Some people mistook them for angelfish. The spine of angelfish clearly separates them from butterfly fish. You can click and see angelfish for yourself.
There are two long-nose butterfly fishes in the Thai Seas. One is this one, found in the Andaman Sea only. The other is Chelmon rostratus, commonly called long-nose butterfly fish as well, but found only in the Gulf of Thailand. Luckily, it is a different sea. So, it is not very confusing.
Just looking at the mouth, you probably know that they are fed on small benthic animals. The very long mouth is suitable to insert between coral branches to nibble the coral, or thrust through sea anemone's tentacles to have pinch on the tissue. Long-nose butterfly fish is, therefore, found in a fertile reef with plenty of stag horn coral or submassive coral and full of small benthic animals like Hok Island (Similan Islands), or Torinla Island (Surin Islands). Both are one of the places that long-nose butterfly fish is found most in Thailand.
Most butterfly fish goes in couple to look for food. The same applies to long-nose butterfly fish. During their teens, they normally live alone. But when they grow up, they would pair off and always live together. You see them by the couple. Mainly I meet them in the reef slope area beyond the reef edge to the deep. They are not found a lot. If a few couples are found in one dive, it is great. I have never met a school of long-nose butterfly fish yet. But I have seen them kept in the aquarium. What a pity! The probability that butterfly fish would survive the aquarium is very slim. They would starve themselves to death. Also, long-nose butterfly fish is very shy. When someone passes by, they would jump and knock against the glass pane until the long nose is scraped. That is a good example of “hell aquarium”.
fishfatty
Active Member
Thanks PonieGirl...Any other EXPERTS out there have any opinions? Im really un-sure right now... some say that they are reef safe, and some dont... some say they are delicate and others say they are hardy... Please help me decide! It seems as if Im getting opposite answers. Thx in advance
cwgibson
Member
poniegirl
Active Member
Originally Posted by FishFatty
Thanks PonieGirl...Any other EXPERTS out there have any opinions? Im getting opposite answers. Thx in advance
Sorry about that..I definitely know what you mean about opposite answers.
I think the truth may be that they are finicky eaters and so they require a very mature tank with alot of pods and reef critters. You would need to be able to replenish the supply of those critters on a regular basis (this is also why wild seahorses are hard to keep successfully, they do starve).
If these fish are only caught wild, not tank raised, that's probably why they are accused of reef destruction. They are hungry and eat what they think is available that they are used to. Your reef!
If you find one at LFS and see him eat food that is offered? It's hard to say. If he is young, as you say, maybe you will have luck training him. I wouldn't try to train him in a reef. Maybe a barebottom QT.
I wonder if a feeding station would work. You know the basket type things that are used in FW tanks to feed live bloodworms? How about thawed mysis (or ?), so he gets the same "reef picking" experience?
Again, sorry for the BLOB of an answer.
Thanks PonieGirl...Any other EXPERTS out there have any opinions? Im getting opposite answers. Thx in advance
Sorry about that..I definitely know what you mean about opposite answers.
I think the truth may be that they are finicky eaters and so they require a very mature tank with alot of pods and reef critters. You would need to be able to replenish the supply of those critters on a regular basis (this is also why wild seahorses are hard to keep successfully, they do starve).
If these fish are only caught wild, not tank raised, that's probably why they are accused of reef destruction. They are hungry and eat what they think is available that they are used to. Your reef!
If you find one at LFS and see him eat food that is offered? It's hard to say. If he is young, as you say, maybe you will have luck training him. I wouldn't try to train him in a reef. Maybe a barebottom QT.
I wonder if a feeding station would work. You know the basket type things that are used in FW tanks to feed live bloodworms? How about thawed mysis (or ?), so he gets the same "reef picking" experience?
Again, sorry for the BLOB of an answer.